Ensuring your smartphone lasts throughout the day is crucial, regardless of whether you’re an Android or iPhone user. Here at our review desk, we put every smartphone through rigorous battery tests to evaluate its performance. Lately, we’ve noticed a shift in the landscape, with Android devices surpassing the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our battery benchmark tests.
The arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the OnePlus 12 has introduced some healthy competition in the battery department, offering Android users improved options. Our battery benchmark test involves setting the screen brightness to around 200 nits and streaming a 24-hour YouTube video until the phone’s battery drains, providing us with a standardized metric for assessment.
In recent years, many Android flagship phones struggled to reach the 18-hour mark in our tests. However, OnePlus has consistently impressed with its battery life. For example, the OnePlus 11 lasted over 20 hours in video playback, and the latest OnePlus 12, equipped with a 5,400 mAh battery, outperformed the iPhone 15 Pro Max with an impressive 27 hours and 43 minutes of video playback.
Samsung’s devices have also shown notable improvements over time. While last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra managed 18 hours and 33 minutes of battery life, this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra exceeded 23 hours on a single charge, both featuring a 5,000 mAh battery.
These enhancements in battery performance can be attributed in part to Android 14, which offers better cache management, resulting in improved efficiency. Dave Burke, Android’s VP of Engineering, discussed these changes, highlighting a 30% reduction in cold starts, which has been well-received by users and forums alike.
Both the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S24 Ultra run on Android 14-based software, with additional optimizations from OnePlus’s OxygenOS and Samsung’s OneUI. These software tweaks, combined with hardware configurations, contribute to the overall improved battery performance.
While Android flagships show promising battery consistency, we’re eager to see how more budget-friendly options like the OnePlus 12R, Pixel 8, and smaller Galaxy S24 fare against the iPhone 15 in our tests.
